Allianz Asset Management GmbH Sells 2,921 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH cut its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 32.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,214 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,921 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 78,159 shares of the technology company's stock worth $15,938,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 124.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,273 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,950,000 after purchasing an additional 13,460 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 13.9% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,869 shares of the technology company's stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,669 shares of the technology company's stock worth $66,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 36,711.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 56,690 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $11,560,000 after acquiring an additional 56,536 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total transaction of $188,467.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 6,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,530,314.40. The trade was a 10.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,960,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,754 shares in the company, valued at $674,730. This trade represents a 74.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,768 shares of company stock worth $3,841,417. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded down $2.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $259.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 335,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 190,806. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $263.07. The company has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $247.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.58.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 13.07%. The company's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Northcoast Research cut Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $234.20.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.